MovieChat Forums > The Terminator (1984) Discussion > Best paced movie ever?

Best paced movie ever?

posted 9 years ago by ajb8487
16 replies | jump to latest

T1 clocks in at 1 hour and 48 minutes.
T2 clocks in at 2 hours and 34 minutes.

Unlike T2 this movie never really ever slows down. The exposition in the movie happens during chase sequences which is brilliant and I wish more media would take advantage of that.

When the movie does slow down it's to give the audience a breather in scenes that don't drag on: Reese and Sarah switching cars, Reese being interrogated, Kyle and Sarah at the motel. Everything in between is high octane action.

There's not really any scenes I can think of that should be removed. In fact I think Cameron made the right choice in not inserting any of the deleted footage scenes as all of them seemed superfluous.

I'll always say that even though T2 is the more critically acclaimed movie it has a BRUTALLY dull second act. Everything from the hospital escape up until the raid on Cyberdyne could have been truncated to 20 minutes instead of Sarah philosophizing about human nature and John and the Terminator talking about daddy issues and "it's in your nature to destroy each other."

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] AJarcher 9 years ago

it's not really more critically acclaimed. the critics are the least to blame for the overbearing preference of T2.

and yes, it's definitely one of the best paced movies ever. cameron having to tighten his belt really saved the movie.

[–] ajb8487 9 years ago

Art from adversity. One of my favorite trivia tidbits: "The final image of the Terminator in the film - where its red eye winks out after it had been crushed in the press - was actually one of the cheapest and simplest shots to create. The press was made of foam core spray-painted silver, the eye was taken from one of the endoskeleton models and fitted with a small LED that was dialed down, the ring of metal that falls off was made of tinfoil, and the smoke wafting across was cigarette smoke blown on-camera by somebody out of the camera's field of view."

I love the creativity and improvisation that went into creating that iconic shot.

[–] !!!deleted!!! (44603563) 9 years ago

T1 clocks in at 1 hour and 48 minutes.
T2 clocks in at 2 hours and 34 minutes.

T2 is 2h and 17min long, the theatrical cut, and has all the scenes which slow down the film cut out. Its flow is much better, similar to the theatrical cut of Aliens.

\m/ METAL FREAK! \m/

[–] hnt_dnl 8 years ago

Did critics even pay attention to the awful acting in T2?

[–] darkstorm97 8 years ago

It's brilliantly paced. The main reason why I watch it 2-3 times a year, and T2 maybe once.

Call me Snake.

[–] smoko 8 years ago

@ajb8487 ...it has a BRUTALLY dull second act.
Absolutely, until they get to Dyson, the movie really drags on. I pretty much skip that whole desert scene.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] joel-craike 8 years ago

It's not the best paced movie at all but it definitely does have a pretty good pace to it.

[–] !!!deleted!!! (34251331) 8 years ago

Very well observed, tough this is my 3rd movie of all times, this is the best paced ever by far, for me too.
I think that cinema was never the same after what The Terminator did for be fast and clearly understandable at the same time. It certainly inspired even new movies like The Dark Knight for example.

[–] !!!deleted!!! (26676124) 8 years ago

I always thought of it as a really short one, around 80 min maybe, until I got the Blu-ray a few years ago and actually read its runtime for the first time. It's definitely up there.

It certainly inspired even new movies like The Dark Knight for example.

Then the Nolans must have viewed the pacing in Terminator as an absolute nicht-nicht since they managed to turn TDK into one of the most exposition-ridden borefests ever put on screen.

That's like saying HIV meds inspire those affected to completely drop the ball and develop full-blown AIDS.

Dead or alive, you're cuming with me

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

Your observation was proven every time I wanted to watch (or show to someone) only the beginning and the title sequence and the music, but .. somehow ended up watching the whole movie anyway.

There's just something about The Terminator (1984) that lures you to continue watching just a little bit more - it doesn't let you stop watching, until you see the end credits and hear that haunting music again.

I don't think I have ever been able to watch just the beginning and the title sequence - you can't just stop after the logo fades into the distance and the music stops - it's just so interesting to watch a bit more, that you end up watching the whole movie anyway.

NEVER in this movie is there a real pause that drones on, like most of the so-called sequel (which is just popcorn for kids), there's never a good moment to shut it off and say 'well, I've seen enough, better start making dinner now'. It just doesn't let you stop, it keeps you watching until the end.

Maybe it is indeed the pacing (though there's a lot more to it than pacing) that really makes that happen. It is indeed a very underrated classic, but I prefer it to be that way - this is how you know you found a rough gem, masses will hate it, and prefer to admire a polished turd.

[–] Silverman (270) 5 years ago

I think the movie is brilliant- until it’s third act , which has not aged gracefully

[–] TheDodgyCodger (3) 5 years ago

I don't know if it's what you're referring to but the stop motion seems to be a common complaint these days. In my opinion it holds up fine and is quite atmospheric but even so, 2 minutes of visual effects weights very little on my opinion of a 108 minute feature. Once Reese is grievously wounded in the final car chase, we see a glimpse of Sarah's growth as her inner strength, that she will one day instill in her unborn child, shines through. And then we have the terrific final scene in the desert where Reese's photograph of Sarah is taken which reveals what her thoughts were at that moment, which Reese had long contemplated(She was thinking of him,) and also serves to show that things have come full circle and that "there is a storm coming."